Nemesis

Some number of years ago, perhaps in about 2008, I bought several Presto Heat Dish units at Home Depot for about $20 each. They are electric 1500 watt heaters with a parabolic reflector. The reflector on those that I have are about 16" in diameter. Doing a quick search on google and Amazon, they are considerably more expensive now between $40 and $70. They also have more features than those that I have. These little heaters create a kind of heat cone that radiates from the dish. Closer is warmer and farther is cooler. The size of the cone at 15' is maybe 8' or 10' in diameter. Anything inside the cone and at perhaps a distance of 15' to 18' from the unit is toasty warm. Take one step outside of that 8' area and you are quickly reminded how cold it is. That $20 price point is a no brainer but getting 2 or 3 units at $70 is quite different in my mind. When I was in Colorado and in the hanger on those 20dF nights and everything in the hanger was cold soaked and I needed to do a bit of engine work, I placed one unit 15' away from the engine area on the right side and another on the left side. Anytime that I was working anywhere near the engine compartment I was toasty warm wearing only a t-shirt. For me it was the perfect solution short of spending some real cash on insulation and a high BTU heater and vent system. One caution however, if anyone chooses to try one of these parabolic type heaters, beware that the heat is very concentrated. If the unit is too close to you it will feel uncomfortably hot, If the unit is heating your work area as in my example, it is also warming some of the airframe just rearward of the cowl. If the unit is too close, the sides of the airframe can get pretty hot and maybe even cook the paint right off. Just be sure to keep the unit far enough away to prevent any heat damage. Even though they are only 1500 watts, the heated area is very concentrated. Dave

The last time that I see that the prop was touched was in Mid 2004 and some 1500 hours ago. I have no problem with that. This prop has certainly given good service. I just want to give the prop shop the correct direction to proceed (read - most cost effective). Given that there is no streaking on the cowl, only spattering, I also was thinking grease instead of oil. However, there are no zerks on this hub so there is no real service for this hub other than inspection. Once again begs the question, is this hub lubricated with engine oil? As far as a prop to crankshaft seal, there is no leaky oil inside the cowl. Dave

If Cody happens to see this topic... Cody, this is a McCauley 2 blade on a 231 with a TSIO-360LB. The hub is a 2A34C216 and the blades are 90DHB-16E. I saw your responses about the S model in the Modern Mooney Forum. The fluid coming out of my prop is not red. It looks more like darkened engine oil. I am at the very end of this oil change cycle with about 27 hours on the oil. Does this hub use engine oil for lubrication? Is that different from other McCauley models? I have a spattering of oil on the windscreen (how I first noticed), and on the cowl. There is a bit of buildup inside the spinner. The blade in the photos has the worst streaking. There is no oil inside the cowl. Matt, thanks for recommendations. If American has a pickup service and is equal to the others in performance, that is a huge bonus for me. Dave

It appears that I am going to need a prop reseal. I am in the desert SW between San Diego and Yuma AZ. Does anybody have any direct knowledge of Santa Monica Propeller? Does anybody know of another prop shop in the SW part of the country? A content search did not turn up very much. Dave

"Any pilot should fly a Spitfire at least once." John Blyth. Hell, put me at the top of the list. I'm game. Dave

Is it just me?... I don't think I have ever seen the prop control to the far right and the mixture in the middle. Are all C models set up like that? Yes, I enjoy your videos as well. Dave

Tank, I am in the CA desert and fly right over the top of you on my way to SW Wyoming, Evanston KEVW, when I go for my annual with Kerry Mcintyre -KNR Inc. (307) 789-6866. He has something more than 30 years experience with Mooneys. I originally found him through articles that he writes for MAPA. I have found no better source for Mooney knowledge. I think his inspection rate is $1700 if my memory is not failing at the moment. If you are into mechanical things, he will gladly let you roll up your sleeves and give you some jobs to do on your own aircraft (that might save a few dollars) as well as give good common sense explanations for all that he looks for. Other options might be Lasar and Top Gun, both in California. All 3 have web sites. Dave

Frank, I would love to help you out and I am just around the corner from both Palm Springs and Puerto Penasco. The trouble is that I just pulled the AI and HSI out for overhaul. Give me 10 - 14 days or so to get them back and it could happen. Dave

Dave, Had better cross me off the list for this get together. I will have to try for the next. Dave

1 for the 10th. Dave

I might be able to make it to KSBP, most especially if it is a Saturday. Dave

Definitely I have searched all over the internet as well as the Century web site. They have some schematics of typical installations as well as wiring diagrams but the service manual is $550. Even the one offered on Essco appears to only be the computer service manual but not the system service manual. Someone on BT said that the main manual was huge. Dave

Does anybody have a copy of the Century 41 Autopilot Service manual that they would be willing to share? I am hoping for an electronic pdf copy or similar so that it would be easy/feasible to share. Dave

In addition to all of the above, they are very different airframes. It might work out better for you if you first determine what your average mission would look like. If you need to carry more people and / or weight, then the Bo might be your best choice. If you will most likely be by yourself or carry only 1 passenger plus bags, then the Mooney could be the better move. How do distance, speed, and altitude capabilities fit into the picture? Define your mission first then start looking for the most compatible airframe. Dave

Well David... First, if they did not want something seen in public or announced to the public, then it should stay hidden. If they need complete privacy, then trucking the secret item to Mojave, CA for testing etc. would seem appropriate. Also, it might be a good idea for Mooney employees to keep their mouths shut if there is some sort of innovation that is being worked on. Having had face to face conversations with several of the higher-ups at Mooney all of which were cordial, and having followed your postings here for quite a while, something definitely seems amiss. I do not think it is ever appropriate to contact a third party (in this case the family restaurant) if one party or the other feels offended, injured (financially), hurt, etc. David, you are already in Kerrville. Take a drive over to the sales office and see if you can talk to the person that called the restaurant or sent the email. Go with a smile trying to alleviate the situation, not to exacerbate. Maybe you can find a way to know if they are in town or traveling. Remember that there is a guard shack before you get to the sales office so you might need an appointment to get through. Let them know that you understand that they might want to keep certain things secret but also that it is not appropriate to contact other family members if they have a dispute with you. If they want to keep their project a secret then they should keep it in the hangar and tell their employees to keep their mouths shut. They should already know that you are a pro-Mooney guy and that you hope for their success. Whatever you saw and whatever you heard from employees is all fair game as far as I am concerned unless those employees asked for you to not repeat what was said. If you had taken a picture then that is your property to publish but only do so knowing the back lash or consequences. To this point, you have not let the cat out of the bag, it was only teased a little. I am not sure if anyone really feels slighted in any way, that is up to you and them of course. I would think that it would be an easy decision for any of the officers at Mooney to take a 10 minute meeting with you to clear the air. Dave

One more to pile on to the cliffy bandwagon. He did a great job on the maintenance seminar. Dave

Perhaps the fastener shown in the upper right of the picture is in the wrong position. If there were no fastener there, maybe with air pressure under the cowl the seal material would be better able to stretch or extend a bit farther to the right in the photo (farther to the left side of the cowl) and would flatten the kinked areas. Or, if the fastener was pulling a bit farther to the right in the photo (pulling farther to the left side of the airplane), that also would take out the kinks. I thought about writing to cut a slit along the center of the kink and that might let the kinked material edges to lay on top of each other. However, I think that is the wrong way to go and is partly destroying that nice new seal that you installed. Also, if it were cut, even if all of the other material correctly sealed against the top cowl, there is a good chance that the weakened material near the slits might fold back and you would still have the same problem. So, I would opt to remove the fastener, stretch the seal material a bit farther to the right in the photo (farther to the left side of the airplane) and reinstall the fastener to a better position. Pulling the material farther to the right in the photo would remove the kinks. Dave

I will be there for lunch and the seminar. Going to see mom after that. Dave

I have never had a problem with the master cylinder but I have seen several threads here on MS about them. From what I remember, there are but a handful of o-rings that have to be replaced to get the system resealed and back up to par. That is assuming of course that there is no scoring of the internals and the person doing the work has the necessary tools and skill. After that, what is needed is an ok from your A&P for the repairs and the reinstall. 5.4 AMUs seems quite excessive for that repair. 2.2 might be more reasonable. It might cost even much less if you are able to do some of that work yourself. There are ways to save on certain expenses and still have a well maintained machine. As always, an attitude of safety is a good place to start as well as a good working relationship with your A&P. I wrote the following in a different thread. ---> The first week that I owned this airplane was spent doing agreed upon repairs that were part of the sale as well as an extensive annual. I installed a JPI 830, new battery, new shock disks, rebuilt nose gear from Lasar, rebuilt mags, and anything and everything that we could think of. I spent about $4000 of the previous owner's money and about $4000 of my own to make sure and minimize any lingering problems and make sure that all maintenance that might have been past due was up to par. Since then, outside of changing the oil, filter, and filling with fuel, I doubt that I have spent more than $3000 per year in total maintenance including the annual inspection and associated repairs. Certainly, I have been fortunate in the first 5 years or so of ownership in the maintenance department. My machine started out in the $80,000 range rather than the $30,000 range so I may not be talking apples - apples. The best way to be sure that you are getting a well maintained machine is to be well informed and to get a thorough prebuy from one of the top Mooney shops. Still, as careful as an owner tries to be, there is always that pesky corroded engine cam or other surprise that nobody can predict. Such is the nature of older used machines. Dave - I finally made it to 100 posts.

I used to be at FTG and APA. Now I am down in the desert but as peevee stated, he and several other active Mooney drivers are at Jeffco, err Rocky Mountain. Best of Luck. Dave

Went out to the airport semi early this morning (Friday) to do a full wash on the 231. KCXL Calexico CA is a very small airport with only about a dozen aircraft on the field. US Customs is on site so there is some traffic crossing the border to and from Mexico. This morning however there were 2 Falcons on the ramp. It is rare to see large aircraft here. N8200E and N8300E are both from Emerson Electric. Maybe they are thinking about a plant in Mexicali given that the peso is really taking a bath just now. At about 6:45a one of the APUs started up. I think it was on N8300E. About a half hour later he started his main engines, taxied, and took off. I was using the wash pad at the time, about 500 feet away, and I had my handheld radio on CTAF. I never heard a word on the radio until he was at about 4000' and departing the area to the east. I asked the guy in the office if he heard anything on the radio when the Falcon departed and he told me no. Now, I know there is little traffic here at 7:15a but I was there at the airport. I could have just as well decided to fly as to wash. I could very well have been on short final to RWY 26 - hidden by the very low rising sun. I don't know what goes through a pilot's mind when he makes a bonehead move like that. Is a big time Falcon pilot too good to make a radio call? Don't be that guy. Dave

Well, Remember this one? (except now there is an advertisement) http://htwins.net/scale2/ The Scale of the Universe. Dave

I am down in the desert about 50 miles west of Yuma AZ at KCXL Calexico CA. Many of the trips I make are to KGUP Gallup NM where my mother lives. I make that trip several times a year and most especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. At the time of this flight my instrument rating was a couple of years old. I stayed current but I had very little time in actual. I had no problem thinking about flying into clouds and descending on an airway (or so I thought) to get back to VFR but I didn't really want to test approaches in mountainous terrain just yet. Also, I had this airplane for a little more than a year so it still felt pretty new to me. So, several years ago for the Thanksgiving trip there was forecast scattered clouds with some fairly strong westerly winds. I also noticed a forecast for BLDU in Winslow. For Gallup, the forecast was scattered with the fairly stiff winds but forecast in the same direction as the runway. That happens many times in Gallup that the winds are aligned with the runway. The winds there have never bothered me and have never been out of my comfort zone with regards to ability or proficiency. The weather in the desert was beautiful, clear and in the 80s and light winds on the ground. Once in the air I got my clearance all the way to Gallup and climbed up to 15000. At altitude I found some of those forecast westerly winds and all was well with the world. As I closed in on Phoenix, I was clearly 3000 or 4000 feet higher than the tops of the scattered layer that was forming. I got a re-route nearing Phoenix that sent me north to the Winslow VOR. Over central Phoenix it was easy to see that the clouds were rising along with the terrain to the north and east. I asked for a climb and was cleared to 17000. At 17000 and now close to these clouds I could see them continuing to grow. Ask again and now I was climbing at full power in the 231 up to FL190. It was only a handful of miles back that the tops were at maybe 12000 max. Then the controller gave me a block between 190 and 210. As I was finally passing this ridge line of clouds at FL195, I could see that they were growing like summer clouds and forming CBs. There was no front that was forecast just the standard winds that come with the changing of the seasons in the high desert. The thought to turn back was definitely running through my mind. Once past that ridge line of clouds I pointed the nose down so that I did not get caught on top of these building storms and right there in front of me I could clearly see the Winslow VOR and BLDU around it. Now over the high desert in late November and the chilly surface temperatures that come with it, I was diving with the LG deployed so that I could stay out of the next fierce looking cloud and I started to get into some sleet. That is the way that it was for the rest of the trip, diving to stay out of the next cloud while being pelted with sleet. I did not loose any instruments or have any system failures so I know that does not sound harrowing like some of the other stories. For me, that was the first time that I had been in any weather and entered clouds (briefly) without an instructor on board. It was also the first time that I had been in any precipitation without an instructor on board. Combine those things with the unexpected buildups, seemingly crazy maneuvering that I think I was doing, little actual instrument experience, new to me airplane, and I was plenty stressed. Takeaways - I think what was happening was that the high winds were being forced aloft by the rising terrain to the north and east of Phoenix. Add a little moisture and changing temperatures from the warm desert to the cooler high desert and I think that is what was generating the weather. The weather report later that night talked about the thunder-snow they had north of Phoenix earlier in the day. One other clue that I now always pay attention to is BLDU. In this case, the forecast for BLDU was in Winslow, more than 100 miles from my destination. If the surface winds are going to be strong enough to pick up so much dirt that it has to be stated in the forecast, then I think there is a good chance that something extra might just be happening in the atmosphere to be wary of. Dave - only a couple of more posts and I will make it to 100.

I can't find the reference that I remember, so I will have to go with your insights Paul. I will however keep filling beyond the bottom of the anti-siphon valve to get closer to my 72 usable. --- Or maybe I had better keep my mouth shut or else the next time I am with Paul for flight instruction he will give those really rough unusual attitudes. --- Dave

I once saw either Stacey Ellis or Bill Wheat write that the full fuel state in any of our machines was the top of the tanks - as much fuel as you can put in and still put the cap on. I remember that after reading the question, even they did not hot have the answer. Then, a couple of days later they wrote the answer. I will look on the email lists and see if I can find the response. In the newer machines, there is even a hole that is drilled into the top outside portion of the anti-siphon valve so that air can pass without making all of the bubbling and splashing. Dave